Wall Street turns its coat around and gets closer to Trump

When Donald Trump left the White House, some big names on Wall Street who had supported him after the 2016 election swore that Trump was over: never again. Exhausted by his way of governing, disappointed by some of his policies, these wealthy donors were horrified by the Capitol riot. Some have denounced him publicly.

This disgust did not last. Mr. Trump leads in the polls and the big financiers of Wall Street and Silicon Valley seem to be rediscovering his qualities. This is what emerges from interviews with numerous wealthy donors who requested anonymity so that their opinions are not linked to their companies.

The motivations are multiple. Often, it’s less about attraction to Mr. Trump — “I still hate the man,” the billionaire hedge fund executive says — than about exasperation with economic and immigration policies. of President Joe Biden.

Biden’s support for Israel

Some major Wall Street donors are also reassessing their stance against Mr. Trump because they are unhappy with the White House’s toughening of Israel in its war in Gaza.

Ken Griffin, CEO of the Citadel hedge fund and political megadonor, is a striking example of this about-face. In 2022, he publicly mocked the ex-president by calling him a “three-time loser” and donated 5 million to Nikki Haley’s campaign.

Recently, this financial tycoon approached Mr. Trump’s election organizers, citing a contribution that would run into the millions.

Will he support Mr. Trump for the first time in 2024? “I’m seriously thinking about it,” he told New York Times.

Likewise, a dozen bankers, asset managers, hedge fund bosses, lawyers and venture capitalists told the Times be disappointed by Mr. Biden’s economic policy and border management. All asked not to be named so that they could express their views freely.

Their concerns reflect two issues that have long weighed on the president’s popularity: inflation and illegal immigration. But recently, some have also spoken of their weariness with the multiple trials against Donald Trump and their dismay at the weakening of the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza.

If these wealthy endorsements materialize, it will be crucial for Mr. Trump’s campaign, which has raised far less money than Mr. Biden’s.

Democratic donors could redirect funds promised to Mr. Biden to Mr. Trump, worsening President Biden’s political dilemma. Indeed, many major donors criticize him for supporting Israel less, while other voters demand more severity towards Israel for its invasion of the Gaza Strip.

In some ways, the rich don’t differ that much from the general electorate: since the end of 2023, polls have shown Mr. Trump winning in most key states. However, major donors of all stripes sense the trend and manage to ensure that their dollars “vote the right way”.

Mr. Trump had little support in big business in 2016 and 2020. Big business executives sharply condemned his attempt to cling to power in January 2021. The largest American bank, JPMorgan Chase, suspended all his political contributions, and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, accused Mr. Trump of inciting a riot.

180 degree turn

However, last January, interviewed at the Davos Economic Forum, Mr. Dimon surprised by declaring that Mr. Trump had been “rather right” on certain issues, notably in toughening the American position towards China and reducing taxes. The bank’s political action committee — funded by executives including Mr. Dimon — has since started making contributions again, with the majority of funds going to Republicans.

Several top Wall Street executives and political donors told the Times that Mr. Dimon’s statement made them feel more comfortable showing more support for Mr. Trump.

Neither Mr. Dimon nor Mr. Trump’s electoral organization wanted to give an interview on this subject. A spokesperson for Joe Biden’s campaign limited himself to indicating that a recent canvassing tour by the president on the West Coast made it possible to raise 10 million in Silicon Valley.

Among business people, a gap remains between what is said publicly and privately about Mr. Trump, who transgresses norms by promising to order investigations into his political rivals if he is re-elected president.

Last month, several tech heavyweights, including Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel, had dinner together to strategize on preventing Mr. Biden’s re-election, two people with knowledge of the event said.

Mr. Andreessen, who said in 2016 that Mr. Trump’s stance on immigration made him “feel sick,” recently told investors in the Middle East that he will not support Mr. Biden, according to a source familiar with the meeting. He’s never gone this far in public.

Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Andreessen declined to comment and said he would not take sides publicly. “Marc discusses current affairs in informal settings, like any normal human being,” the spokesperson said.

Mr. Thiel, a staunch supporter of Mr. Trump in the 2016 election, says he has no plans to donate this time, although he privately criticizes Mr. Biden’s economic record, according to three sources. his interlocutors. Separately, Palantir Technologies, Mr. Thiel’s data analytics company, had contact with a political organizer for Mr. Trump and discussed his possible return to the White House, according to two people familiar with the meeting. .

In addition, the political situation gives rise to surprising connections: Cliff Asness, billionaire and self-proclaimed libertarian, asserted as recently as January that the Republican Party under Donald Trump has become a “cult.”

Last week, when the White House cut off a shipment of weapons to Israel to prevent their use during the assault on the Gaza city of Rafah, Mr. Asness wrote on X that he was “very close to which was once unthinkable (and still is somewhat): #TRUMP2024”.

This article was published in the New York Times.

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